Julie, you remember right, and this nurse's information is so outdated it is
impressive.  Where does she think babies come from, anyway?  Some germ-free
sterile package?  And is it okay to kiss the baby's hand?  Does the baby then
have to keep its hand away from the face?  How should she handle the issue of
wiping off spit-up milk on the baby's face?  Aseptic technique?

"A nurse told her she shouldn't kiss her baby on the face or touch her baby's
face because of germs.  I thought I had read somewhere that it was important
for a baby's immune system to be colonized with her mother's germs as soon as
possible (assuming the mom doesn't have active TB or something like that) and
this had something to do with breastfeeding and antibodies.  Is this right
and, if so, does anyone have a source for this information?"

OTOH, it is true that the **staff** should refrain from kissing babies in the
ward, unless they have some way of ensuring that they will not carry bacteria
from one baby to another by the facial route.

Sheesh.
Rachel Myr

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